In The Meantime is a brand-new message series by Andy Stanley that explores the concept of what to do when there’s nothing you can do. It’s discussion of that “in between time” is something that we all have faced or will face at some point in our lives. The feeling of feeling stuck because of some kind of unfortunate circumstance, or perhaps the hopeful anticipation of what may lie ahead can leave us feeling stranded in an unfavorable stage of life.

I was inspired by Castaway because it wasn’t about turmoil, or disaster, or shipwreck—those were all precursor. The focus of this artwork needed to be what you do in the meantime while there’s nothing you can do. So if you’re on an island, with nothing to do, no essentials, no escape, no hope, all you can do is survive. You make do, you press on with the distant hope that somehow, someway you’ll be rescued from your circumstances by nothing short of an act of God. The challenge of course is testing your will, your desire to press on. The hope is your only lasting motivator.

I don’t know what I would do if I was stranded, but the emotion of that, the feeling of hopelessness, the thought process of “is this my new normal” would be terrifying and yet, that’s where some of us are. Hopefully this artwork is emotive of that as Andy shares what God has for us in those moments.